Happy Halloween!!!!

Thought I would get a quick very short post in before the month of October is gone....
I have just spent the past week with very good friends of mine Karen and Brendan from home. They flew into Nairobi on Sunday last and we headed out to the Karen Blixen Museum and coffee gardens for lunch and a wander. Then on Monday we flew down to Diani Beach where they had rented a lovely villa near the beach with a pool ... it has been pure paradise here and a welcome relief from noisy Nairobi!!!! We have had a great week catching up and relaxing, eating lots of fresh fish, beach walks, snorkelling and swimming in the warm Indian Ocean.
We spent a great morning today in Sand Island off Tiwi beach looking for starfish which was a real highlight. It was such a surprise to see how many different colours there are.... check out the pics of them... they are the real and not fake I promise.....Back to Nairobi tomorrow so heading out to a Halloween party now...
Said it would be a short post and it is..... Happy Halloween everyone!!!!

Blue Mountain..........

Forgive me folks but it has been 1 month since my last confession ... I mean update!!!!
It has been a busy few weeks leading up to the Annual Mount Longonot Schools Climb which is a big fundraising event for the Kenya Society for the Blind each year. So last Saturday it eventually happened with a lot of the usual last minute PANIC which I have become accustomed to here!!! Preparations were still going on the Friday evening in work... counting out all the T-shirts for the schools ... what is it about charity events revolving around T-shirts..... ????Been there done that and GOT THE T-SHIRT craze!!!!

But.... I have to say the day actually went off pretty well and we had about 500 students, parents, teachers and individuals taking part in the climb (including some VSO ers supporting a fellow volunteer and their fundraising attempts which was great).
Early start on Saturday when we met at 7am for the convoy of coaches to the Park about 1.5 hours north of Nairobi. Mount Longonot is an extinct volcano which makes it a tough, steep and dusty climb to the top but the views of the Rift Valley from the top are just amazing.
I had Henry Wanyoike on board as our guest of honour to flag off the event. Henry is a blind Kenyan marathon runner who runs mainly abroad with his co-runner guide Joseph in competitive events and he is the ambassador for the Standard Chartered Bank “Seeing is Believing” international campaign. He was a great guy to have at the event as all the kids wanted his autograph as he is very well known here and he is willing to work with us again to promote our organisation.... So I must be doing something right!!!

By 9.30am all the climbers were lined up and rearing to go but the speeches dragged on and on and on.... again what is it with speeches here.... everyone needs to say more than their fair share.... they certainly deviated from the speeches that I wrote out for them... (I know ME a speech writer.. what next!!)... So eventually the event had a green light and this mass of blue ascended on Mt Longonot..... snaking up to the top.

Needless to say a few well deserved Cosmos were consumed on Saturday night afterwards with the girls to de-stress from an eventful but succesful day...!!!!

Holiday Highlights!

l just had a great 2 week holiday with my sister Sarah taking in some of the sights of Kenya.... Not to bore everyone with every detail… BUT…
Here are some of the Highlights……
1. Viewing 5 Lion Cubs playing with lioness in Masai Mara Park.
2. Watching a Lion pride defend their Zebra kill from the hyenas and jackals.

3. Getting up close to the White Rhinos in the Rhino Sanctuary in Masai Mara

4. Chuckling at our fellow Safari camper German family man “Wolfgang” who headed out on the 6am game drives in his leather shorts and bow and arrow… (Mmm.. maybe not a highlight but certainly gave us a laugh)…

5. Travelling on the rickety slow 14 hour Train Ride to Mombasa from Nairobi and enjoying dinner and breakfast in the dining car.
6. Going on a Dhow Boat Trip with Sarah, Kelly and Colm around Lamu Island and fishing for our lunch and then eating our white snapper catch with Chapattis and salad on Mandera Island....!!!

7. Walking along the white sandy beach of Shela Beach and trying to fly Sarah’s foil kite.
8. Cycling around Hells Gate National Park in Naivasha and walking the Gorges there...!

Not so good but….
1. Missing the Wilder beast Migration by 1 week.... those stupid animals decided not to cross the river for us en masse… (Due to low rainfall in Masai Mara, deforestation of the Mau Forest... and the falling river levels of Mara River which is even killing off the crocs that used to devour them!!)
2. Unfortunately not being able to dive or snorkel in Lamu Island as the water is too murky this time of year.. .!
3. Stepping in lots of donkey S**t in the tiny Lamu streets… flip flops not advisable!
4. Getting a very sore arse from a days cycling in Hells Gate and severe case of lobsteritis from taking Doxycycline and also having the skin that simply does not tan.. (think that answers a couple of questions from people about whether I have a tan yet??)

Did I hear right ...??
1. Been asked in Lamu Island by a waiter in an empty restaurant “would we like to wait 30 mins or 40 mins for our food to be cooked”.... ??!!!
2. On the train to Mombasa... the waiter asked for us to pay for our drinks again after we had already paid... when we clarified this... he responded... “well all you foreigners look the same!!”
3. Trying to negotiate a good price for belts in Masai Market in Nairobi... The vendor told us that “I will give you a good discount if you buy more than One.. 400 Shillings for one.....and 800 shillings for 2”...... ??!!!

Golf and Geckos!!

I don’t know where the weeks are going since my last update so apologies as I have been pretty lazy. There are a new group of VSO volunteers just arrived in Kenya so I am not a newbie any more which is good..... But I am definitely going to get some Kiswahili lessons ASAP as I am still shocking !!!
I know I haven’t filled you in on my work situation (reasons for that)...BUT the famous Golf fundraising day for my organisation which I have been telling some people about eventually happened last Friday 10th July ...... Pretty interesting experience.... lets just paint a picture.... We had 70 golfers expected at a very fancy golf club for an afternoon of golf..... First Tee off scheduled for 12pm... so at 10.30 some of my KSB colleagues who were due to help out at the event congregated outside our office for the Hiace min van to depart to the venue so we could set up the registration table... well we waited as some people hopped into the van and then hopped out again... so as the time wore on and no sign of us departing any time soon..my blood pressure began to rise slowly……eventually at 11.30am we left the office to head to the golf club... needless to say at this stage my blood was boiling but I was taking lots of deep breaths..... it took us over 40 mins to get to the golf club because of Friday Nairobi traffic... so with tyres burning and brakes screeching we drove at top speed into the car park of the golf club and 6 of us proceeded to jump out of the van commando style and run to the registration table where there were already golfers waiting to register (ie. Bear in mind professional business men and ladies).......... So the excuses my colleagues were giving me all the way to the club “BUT Emma this is Africa .. this is Kenyan time ... this kind of set the tone for the day ... moving on to the fact that we had not organised all the prizes for the winners. So at 3 o clock three colleagues took off again in the hiace into town to buy some sports vouchers and trophies for the winners.... with the prize giving due to start at 6.30 they eventually got back to the club at 6.20pm again screeching tyres... the prize giving was an hour late starting what a surprise and then the MC who I harassed into doing the event for free mixed up all the names and order of the programme so it was all a bit embarrassing. Now you might think well why I hadn’t tried to help co-ordinate the event better... well it truly is NOT that easy to tell people what they should be doing when they think they know best....!!!!

Well, I eventually invested in some furniture for the sitting room in our flat which makes it far more sociable now that we can actually have visitors over without asking them do they mind sitting on the floor.... Then yesterday I came across the first gecko/lizard type thing in my bedroom, I had this clever plan to ambush him and toss him out the window ... so with the window open I chased him around the room with a sweeping brush and quick as I could trapped him in the dustpan and “gently” threw him out the window.... don’t worry I live on the ground floor... so do not... I repeat Do NOT report me to the KSPCA...(actually don’t think they have one here!!) Well at least it is not snakes I have to content with as a friend of mine says that her neighbours in Nairobi have had 3 snaked into their house in the last month.... !!!

Close Encounters with ... the Law..!!

I had 2 encounters with the Local Kenyan police force this week. Often this is not a very pleasant experience as they may not be your friends by any standards and are usually looking for a bribe… (I know.. sweeping statement but mostly true……).. On Monday night I was in a car with a Dutch friend who was driving 4 of us home from the cinema who a) wasn’t used to driving in Kenya and didn’t know her way round that well and b) didn’t like driving in the dark. So as we proceeded foolishly down a dark one way road unbeknown to any of us… Out of nowhere stepped 2 armed policemen who pulled us over and grilled us. First they told her it would be a court appearance and hefty fine and how could we have not seen the sign….what with no street lights.. Pretty easy to miss it…!! Although we were totally at fault.. I still do not know how we managed to pull it off but after us pleading our innocence and giving a good sob story they let us go without any charge or money changing hands…..???? (Note: No “girlie” tears were shed during this exchange!!!).

Then on Tuesday morning on my way to work in the matatu… we had just reached town and we were pulled over by 3 policeman. The matatu fare operator was a girl and they gave her a hard time about not wearing the proper uniform which is a maroon jacket and hers was slightly on the red side. The 3 cops then proceeded to get into the matatu and escort the matatu to the police station around the corner. We (all the passengers) were all told to get out and stand in a line outside the police station. I was waiting for my mug shot to be taken ….ANYWAY one of the cops proceeded to lecture us all in Kiswahili so I could only imagine was being said….. & after telling us we had been forgiven this time for not wearing seat belts he let us all go on our way BUT held onto the matatu driver and the fare operator… so who knows what happened to them!!!

Note to self: Dont go out after dark and remember to buckle up in a matatu... YEAH RIGHT!!!

A Time to Dance...

“Life is like dancing. If we have a big floor, many people will dance. Some will get angry when the rhythm changes. But life is changing all the time.” Don Miguel Ruiz.

Life here comes with its ups and downs so I am trying to find a happy balance and get into the rhythm of Kenyan life and accept that change really is a good thing .... just give me patience.... (Although, I am still trying to figure out how open my organisation is to “change”?)

On Saturday 16th May I helped out at a Children’s Party which was being organised by another volunteer friend for her organisation. The party was for 300 orphan kids from 5 different Children’s Homes in Nairobi. It was great to see all the kids showing off their dancing skills and performing songs on the stage in front of everyone. We also had sports organised (sack races, egg and spoon race etc) for the older kids and face painting and dancing games for the younger kids. I really showed how inept I am at dancing when it was my turn to show off my moves and all I could seem to come up with was my impression of a wannabe John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever... You should have seen the reaction on the kids faces...… Bewilderment!!

So with my lack of dancing skills very apparent I went along to an African Dance Class with some others last weekend... hoping I could I find my “mojo” … although lets be clear I am under no illusion that a person with zero co-ordination and absolutely no sense of rhythm will actually get it … but hopefully with a bit more practice I can master some of the foot moves if not the arm waving that accompanies the dancing!!!

From tribal dancing to Ballet dancing….. On Saturday night the Russian Ballet were in town performing so a couple of us decided to go along to the show as it would be rude to pass up an evening of staring at Russian men in “white tights”… It was highly amusing to see some of the Kenyans in the audience absolutely cracking up at the sight of the men frolicking around the stage… surely Not a very masculine thing to do!! Well as Brucie always says at the end of “Strictly”….. Keep Dancing…!!

3 Resons to be thankful.....!!!!

1) Yesterday as I was walking home from work, a matatu full of passengers lost control and careered off the road onto the footpath and crashed into a hedge where I had just walked by 15 seconds before….. Thankfully no one was injured……..?

2) Today I saw a mosquito buzzing around my room and as he was so slow and sluggish he was an easy kill… the reason why was because he had obviously been feasting on me during the night as red blood splattered everywhere!!! Thankfully there is no Malaria in Nairobi…..!!!!!!??

3) On my way to work this morning listening to the radio the Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show equivalent was on air and the 2 male DJs were discussing and opening up for public comment on the best way to punish and discipline your wife if husbands are not happy with their wife's behaviour… (Last week the topic was "What does the other woman having the affair with a married man get out of the relationship etc)…….…Thankfully I have a sense of humour…???!!!

More photos from the weekend to follow later i promise....

Headline News….!!!!!

I got a good laugh out of the headline in the The Standard Newspaperin Nairobi today 30th April…

The next BIG Battle…… Women declare sex boycott over reforms and wrangling…

“Sex money and power are said to make the world go round, especially when dealing with politicians who take people round in circles until they feel dizzy. Now women in Kenya have joined hands to boycott sex for the next seven days to push for reforms and

constitutional review……
No reforms.. No Sex..”

I would love to see the effect these threats would have with the Irish Politicians!!!! Some how I don’t think Brian Cowen et al would bat an eye lid ……!

http://www.eastandard.net/InsidePage.php?id=1144012904&cid=4&ttl=Women%20declare%20sex%20boycott

And all that Jazz......

Nairobi Night life certainly doesn't disappoint.... Last night a few of us went to a Jazz festival held in the grounds of the National Museum.... It was really good music... I was even practically dancing ... well shrugging my shoulders and moving my ass from side to side constitutes as dancing in my book!!!... i know me dancing!!!. The event was sponsored by the South African Commission to celebrate their Independence day and the lead performer was a South African soul diva called "Lira" who was great!! Check out Lira out on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp6HI7tkESk

http://www.misslira.co.za/home.php

Public holiday on Friday so roll next weekend for another day off work.....

just like home eh!!!

So close and yet so Far......!!!

Just had a great Easter weekend with 3 other volunteers Kelly, Anna and Rachel up in Lake Baringo… 2 and ½ hours north of Nakuru National Park!!!!

On Saturday I made my way from Nairobi by matatu to Soysambuu (just south of Nakuru) where I met a friend of a guy I used to work with in Musgraves. He lives in a house on the estate of Lord Delamare and has his very own wildlife park in his back garden. Got to see lots of flamingos, impalas, monkeys from his veranda as we sipped a glass of wine…. Eventually got a lift to Nakuru and met up with the girls in a small hotel for the night….

Early start at 7am on Saturday morning as we were informed that we could take the public Kenya Wildlife Service park bus into Lake Nakuru for a few hours trip which we were told left town at 8am.........WRONG… we waited and waited and waited ... until we we enquired again and found out it wasn’t going till much later on .....SO we decided to cut our losses and head on up to Lake Baringo…. Lake Nakuru could wait till the way back......

We bundled into a matatu and after 2 hours were dropped in a small town called Marigat.. from there we then argued for ages over the 70 shilling fare that the driver of a car wanted to charge us to take us to Lake Baringo.... after a stand-off for about 30 mins in the midday sun we finally gave in…….Finally arrived at Lake Baringo tired, sweaty, thirsty and a bit annoyed at ourselves for fighting over such little money… BUT it is the PRINCIPLE!!!
Lake Baringo as the guide book says is a twitters paradise (mmm!!) and home to loads of hippos which come out in droves at night..... so around our camp fire sipping our beer we could see them munching about 20 feet away from our tent by the lake shore….

On Sunday myself and Kelly went for a “guided scorpion and Snake walk” around the area (well we saw only 2 scorpions and one tiny poisonous snake!!!!) ... we got caught in a torrential downpour so we had to shelter for about an hour in a locals house until it passed … …. The whole place needed the rain as the area hadn’t had rain for months but my clothes are still BROWN from the mud afterwards.

We left relaxed on Monday am and got the direct bus to Nakuru this time and thought we would be in time to take the Official tour bus into Nakuru National Park............. BUT again we got some conflicting information and ended up negotiating with a guy from a tour company to take us around the park for 2.5 hours in his jeep @ 5 euro each (note: VERY GOOD PRICE)…. SO just as we are driving towards the park I spot the Actual official Kenya Wildlife bus behind us (which we knew was Only 2 euro per person) ….. so we flagged it down to get on and we ALL jumped out of the jeep and hopped on the tour bus… ONLY to find there were NO seats left and our jeep took off… SO we were dumped on the side of the road… and no way into Lake Nakuru this time……….............So close and yet so Far away!!!!!!
A bit disgruntled and mad with ourselves for being so stupid ........(note the recurring theme) we headed on back to Nairobi !!!! Lake Nakuru can wait......

Here at last- It never rains but it pours!!!!

I will keep this short and snappish from here on in so you don't become too bored of my rants!!! But I will bring you up to speed on my Nairobi Experience so far....Well ...Month 1 down and only 23 to go!!!- Arrived in Nairobi a month ago with 3 other VSO volunteers. We were joined on Saturday 7th March by 12 other volunteers from Canada, USA, UK, Uganda and Australia for one week of In Country Training. After a week of some lessons in basic Kiswahili, Kenyan Culture, Health & Safety workshops, meeting our employers and VSO training we were soon dispatched off to our various placements around Kenya. I am working in fundraising and PR with the Kenya Society for the Blind based here in Nairobi - one of the 600 NGOs based here in Kenya- so not much competition!!!!

So the last month has been a serious of mixed emotions for me: frustration, impatience, amazement, and panic.... you name it... but overall I am definitely happy to be here. The job will be challenging given the economic climate and funds are tight no matter what organisation people work for. However I am determined to give it my best shot and hopefully will leave the organisation in 2 years with strategies in place that will enable them to sustain the projects that they are involved in working with the visually impaired in Kenya. ...well that is the the idea anyway.... Along the way I hope to have a lot of fun too!!

Nairobi- what can I say- Noisy, busy, dirty, dangerous but.... definitely not dull. You can get pretty much everything here but on my salary not everything is in my price range- if you get my drift. Small bar of Cadburys Dairy Milk is 48 cence (euro) approx- so it is a luxury on my 8 euro a day salary!!

On first impression my accommodation resembles Ballymun flats but once you’re inside it is quite respectable now that I have blown my home furnishing allowance on some fancy new curtains. Never mind that there isn’t any furniture in the sitting room or a table and chair to eat from... but hey I know how to prioritise!!! I am sharing with another Volunteer who is working for UNICEF so we can share bills which is great!! Good news for my prospective guests- I have a flushing toilet and electricity (So the ole hairdryer gets an outing occasionally), a shower (but cold water- unless I can be bothered to boil a kettle) which I haven’t yet cause I am way too lazy in the mornings ....so prefer to gasp under the torrent of cold water at 6am each day. Unfortunately lie -ins can be a rare thing as the flat is on the ground floor and there are builders working outside my window every day except Sunday.... hammering away and if that doesn’t prevent me from my precious sleep it is the persistant screaming child in the flat above!!!! Oh and did I mention the cockroaches – yes giant ones- thankfully they only average about 1 per week so I have me DOOM spray at the ready all the time!!

Nairobians seem to be trapped in some kind of 80’s music time warp ... Every morning on the way to work I can look forward to a medley of Luther Van Dross, Whitney Houston, Gloria Gaynor or Rick Astley.... however on the faster Matatus there is a good mix of rap/ hip hop thrown in there for good measure. What can i say- about the Matatus (Hiace Vans that I use for transport) .... Only that I spend about 3 hours on average in them each day on the commute to work- it’s not the distance so much but the traffic jams. Luckily I haven’t crashed in one just yet but witnessed a few prangs-so I am just trying to avoid sitting behind the driver- “the death seat”!!!

Work is going well so far but the pace is slow - that goes for my computer at work too which is on a serious "go slow" mode and takes about 15 mins to boot up- .... My colleagues are great and are still trying to suss me out and what my story is.....I think it will take me a little while to find my feet in there and get my networking hat on with gusto....I am still holding out for an invite to the Irish Embassy for my welcoming party but nothing yet.... I live in hope!!!!!

So finally onto the weather – a favourite Irish Subject ... no I don’t have an inkling of a tan yet even though it has been about 25 degrees pretty consistently here since i arrived... cause every day I lather on the factor 30 every time i go out to prevent "lobsteritis" occurring... however last Monday the long awaited rains came to Nairobi and boy when it rains here ....it Rains!!!! I have invested in an umbrella for walking to work but seriously considering buying a pair of wellies as well!!!!